Pens show a champ’s resolve

OTTAWA — For days the Ottawa Senators have talked about getting the lead.

They finally got one. Holding onto it was another story.

A thorough 7-3 victory by the Penguins sends the series back to Pittsburgh where the home team, up three games to one, will have a chance to clinch, and where the Senators’ pesky ways will be put to their sternest test.

Players like to say that each playoff series takes on a life of its own, with ebbs and flows, huge swings in momentum that can end as abruptly as they begin. The Senators hoped a miraculous comeback to win Game 3 would create some doubt in the Pittsburgh room before Game 4. Apparently not. The Penguins rebounded with a champion’s resolve.

The Senators’ new strategy appeared to be to let the Penguins go on the power play. In the first two games, Pittsburgh used to the…